Inability to File Reply to GST SCN: Delhi HC allows petitioner to File Response, directs Reopening of GST Portal [Read Order]

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court issued an order allowing the petitioner to file a response to the GST Show Cause Notice ( SCN ) issued by the Central Goods and Services Tax ( CGST ) Department under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 on the re-adjudicated Show Cause Notice.

The Court directed the reopening of the GST Portal to allow the petitioner to file the response which could not be filed due to the error caused in the GST Portal. It was added that the petitioner shall be given a proper opportunity for hearing and shall pass a fresh order by the law within a period mentioned under Section 75 (3) of the Goods and Services Tax Act.

The Counsel for the petitioner, Puneet Agrawal, Mansi Khurana, Tanmay Mangal and Chetan Kumar Shukla, submitted that the petitioner was unaware of any such proceedings initiated against him and he could not respond to the same.

The Show Cause Notice on the portal was uploaded in the category of ' Additional Notices and Orders' and was not communicated by any other mode of communication. It was also submitted that, if the Notice had been uploaded to the right head the petitioner would have noticed it and would have participated in the further proceedings.

The Respondent- Revenue was represented by Chiranjiv Kumar, Mukesh Sachdeva, Neelima, Harpreet Singh, Suhani Mathur, Jatin Gaur, Rajeev Aggarwal,Prateek Badhwar, Shaguftha H. Badhwar and Samridhi Vats, Pratap Singh Dahiya, Nausha Batra and Shivani Gupta.

For reference purposes, the judgment of the Madras High Court in M/s East Coast Constructions and Industries Ltd vs. Assistant Commissioner has been taken. In which the respondents were instructed to address the issue arising out of posting information under two separate headings. Yet another judgment that comes into relevance is the judgment in a petition titled Murugesan Jayalakshmi Vs. State Tax Officer, in which the Madras High Court had addressed the same issue and the portal has been redesigned and both the 'View Notices’ tab and ' Additional Notices' are put into a single heading.

The Bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Ravinder Dudeja observed that the only reason for passing the impugned order is that Petitioner had not filed any reply, so he should be given one opportunity to respond to the show cause notice, and thereafter, the Notice is to be re-adjudicated.

In result, the impugned order was set aside, and the revenue was directed to provide the petitioner an opportunity to access the portal to file the response within two weeks.

Also, an opportunity for a proper hearing shall be given to the petitioner and a fresh order shall be issued as per law within a period mentioned u/s 75 ( 3 ) of the Act, the court added.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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